PM to lay foundation for six-laning of Panipat highway project

March 23, 2006

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will today lay the foundation stone for six-laning of 10 km stretch of the National Highway one (NH-1) running through Panipat in Haryana.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda along with other ministers will be present on the occasion. Dr Singh will also address a public meeting on the occasion. Security men have been posted on the spot.

The project requires a total investment of Rs 325 crore, is undertaken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The project aims at easing traffic congestion in Haryana.

The project includes construction of a 3.4 km long elevated highway across the congested crossings of Gohana, Sanauli and Assand roads till Skylark tourist complex, where Haryana’s mini-secretariat was proposed to be built.

The project that forms a part of the North-South Corridor in Haryana will be completed in three years. It will be built on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis, a NHAI official said.

The official said NHAI had already entered into an agreement for this project with L and T Panipat with a negative grant of Rs 96.4 crore.

According to the agreement, L and T Panipat will have control over that stretch of the highway for a period of 20 years. ”Funds will not be an impediment in the implementation of the project,” he said.

Last week, NHAI was accorded the highest AAA rating by Fitch Ratings to its proposed Rs 8,000 crore long-term debt programme.

A statement issued from Fitch said NHAI has become the extended arm of the Indian government as it is the only agency for implementing the important National Highways Development Project (NHDP).

The Panipat highway project will have a separate two-lane peripheral road for the local traffic and two underpasses, besides a new bridge covering peripheral roads and main carriageway.

The highway will have latest features, including toll plaza, traffic safety features, road furniture and road signage, the official said. Construction and reconstruction of culverts, drains and ducts will also form a feature of the project.

“National Highways” in India is the class of roads maintained by the Central Government and is the main long-distance roadways. The NH’s constitute about 58,000 km, i.e. around 2 percent of the total road network in India, but carries nearly 40 percent of the total road traffic. There are long NH’s to connect the metros together, as well as short shoots off the highway to give connectivity to the nearby ports or harbors.